SF123 - Free School Lunch and Breakfast

• Creates a free school meals program requiring all Minnesota schools participating in federal lunch and breakfast programs to provide free meals to all students, with state funding covering the difference between federal reimbursement and the actual cost.

• Schools must adopt written meal policies prohibiting lunch shaming, ensuring meals cannot be withdrawn after service, and prohibiting use of collection agencies or restrictions on student activities due to unpaid meal balances.

• Provides state aid of 12.5 cents per free/paid lunch and 52.5 cents per reduced-price lunch, or alternatively provides state funding equal to the difference between federal reimbursement rates and actual costs for schools in the free meals program.

• Appropriates $191,652,000 for school lunch aid in fiscal year 2024 and $198,641,000 in 2025; appropriates $25,283,000 for school breakfast aid in 2024 and $25,874,000 in 2025.

• Effective July 1, 2023 for meal provisions, with appropriation authority effective the day following final enactment.